Must-take courses for you storytellers out there

"The arc of evolution bends toward good storytellers," wrote Scott Galloway in a recent article. And nowadays everyone seems to know the recipe for becoming a better storyteller - just google ‘storytelling’ to see what I mean. But good wordsmiths are not nearly as common as the search results would have you believe. However, you can become one should you want. I have been working on improving my own storytelling skills for a while now and recently took a few courses to help me. Here are the ones that truly made a difference.

Start with the basics

I suggest starting with a course to improve your writing skills. My favorite teacher for this, Shani Raja, can be found on platforms like LinkedIn and Udemy. He is an ex-Wall Street Journal editor who excels at helping people enhance their writing. Raja offers several courses tailored to different skill levels and specific areas of improvement.

You can try his free course, "Secret Sauce of Great Writing." It covers the four ingredients of good writing: simplicity, clarity, elegance, and evocativeness. If you are ready for a more in-depth exploration, beyond the surface level, I suggest taking "Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer." This course delves deeper into the four ingredients, provides ample practice opportunities, and helps you integrate them naturally into your writing.

• Why is this step important?
  Feeling confident in your language skills is imperative to create without getting stuck in grammar and structure.

Master the art itself

To make storytelling your second nature, I cannot recommend the Story Skills Workshop with Bernadette Jiwa enough. This workshop gives you sufficient time to learn and perfect each element of a story following the 5 C's framework: context, catalyst, complication, change, and consequence. Working on a single story, you will be supported by a generous cohort of fellow storytellers who are on the same journey.

Taking time at each step and receiving feedback along the way is invaluable for crystallising the real story. This process was eye-opening for me as I realised I was focused solely on the facts and neglecting the feelings that make a story relatable. Once I flipped that switch, everything changed.

• Why is this step important?
  Working on familiar stories from your own life helps you refine your storytelling approach and become familiar with the frameworks presented in the course.

Make it work

After completing the previous two steps, if you want to bring storytelling into your professional life, take it up a notch with Section's "Storytelling for Influence Sprint" led by Will Storr. Storr, an expert in the science of storytelling and the author of six critically acclaimed books presents a framework that applies the three essential character types—the hero, the shadow, and the light figure—to business storytelling. In this context, the hero represents your audience, the light figure is you or your product/service, and the shadow represents the internal or external challenges the hero must overcome.

The pacing and examples in this sprint will help you grasp the concept, then put it into practice, and most importantly, recognise the brands that are master storytellers and those that are not.

• Why is this step important?
  Understanding the nuances of storytelling in a business context is crucial for all marketers. The frameworks presented in the sprint make it easy to refine the language, style, and presentation of your stories.

Become a master storyteller

Scott Galloway writes, "Money, mates, and meaning are all moths to the flame of storytelling". I won't argue with the master.

There are two types of people—those born to tell stories and those who learn the art along the way. I fall into the latter category. I was blind to structures, arcs, and the roles of characters. For the longest time, I believed that genius writers created brilliant stories effortlessly in a single sitting. If that were true, it would take only a day or two to write a book. After all, that should be enough time to type it up.
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The above courses helped me appreciate the process and provided me with the space (and guardrails) to practice and improve. I am confident they can help you level up too.
The final step is to keep telling stories and listening to feedback. Adapt and repeat the process.

Stay inspired. Keep inspiring.

P.S. If you want to get $100 off your Section membership, use my affiliate link.